West Indies Stun England to Reach Women’s T20 World Cup Semi-Finals
West Indies break 13-match losing streak, top Group B, and set up a semi-final clash with New Zealand.
West Indies shocked everyone by defeating England by six wickets in an exciting match at the Women’s T20 World Cup, securing a trip to the semi-finals. With this win, West Indies snapped a 13-game losing record against England and jumped to the top of Group B, paving the way for a semifinal matchup with New Zealand.
Key Performances and Match Analysis
West Indies 144 for 4 (Joseph 52, Matthews 50, Glenn 1-20) beat England141 for 7 (Sciver-Brunt 57*, Fletcher 3-21, Matthews 2-25) by 6 wickets.
Match Analysis
Against all odds, the West Indies pulled off the biggest coup of this T20 World Cup, qualifying for the semi-finals and eliminating one of the favorites, England.
West Indies ended a 13-match losing record and won Group B to advance to the semi-finals in Sharjah, where they will play New Zealand. The team last defeated England in 2018. Additionally, West Indies’ participation in a T20 World Cup semifinal was terminated in that same year.
After being eliminated in the group stage of the 2010 T20 World Cup, England has only missed the knockout stages twice. They were sure they would make it to the final four after winning their first three games. Rather, South Africa becomes a member of the West Indies, while England drops to third place in the group due to their net run-rate.
Because of Stafanie Taylor’s knee injury, the former captain and seasoned batter for the West Indies made the team’s victory all the more impressive. While she was absent, Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph settled into a groove and easily defeated the 142-run mark. Playing in her 100th Twenty20 International, Matthews hit her 14th half-century in the format, while Joseph, who came into the game with a career-best 34 runs, produced a 38-run 52.
West Indies were on their way as the two shared an opening stand of 102 runs in just 13 overs. This marks the second time since the West Indies’ record chase of 213 against Australia last December that they have successfully pursued a total of 140 or more. This is their sixth such chase.
After Nat Sciver-Brunt’s half-century, England might have felt they had had enough, but the rest of the order wasn’t helping. Worse for them, on 21 with the score at 80 for 3, Heather Knight pulled out due to a calf injury, ending England’s comeback after they had fallen to 34 for 3 in the seventh over. Bowling for the first time in the tournament, Afy Fletcher and Deandra Dottin shared four wickets and handed up 37 runs in seven overs, giving the West Indies an early lead that they maintained throughout the match.
After being hit in the chin, James was able to throw her second ball up to Maia Bouchier, who then threw it up to Munisar at cover point, but she blew a clear opportunity. After Bouchier hit the first boundary of the innings, England appeared to be in control until Matthews entered the field to bowl.
When Danni Wyatt-Hodge attempted to hit her behind point for four a second time, Dottin sprang forward to collect a low catch, giving the West Indies an advantage. Alice Capsey was run out for one in the next over, putting Dottin’s arm in danger, and Bouchier skied Afy Fletcher to Qiana Joseph at extra cover just after the powerplay. Shocked, England were 34 for 3 in the seventh over.
When Sciver-Brunt was on two, Fletcher pitched it outside leg, and she survived the LBW review. She then opened her boundary count with a lap over Shemaime Campbelle, which ignited England. In two consecutive overs, Knight split the extra cover and mid-off fielder, leading England to fifty and beyond. After that, the two started to sweep, and after 12 overs, England was leading by 79 runs when an injury occurred.
After receiving treatment during that over, Knight exited the field due to a calf issue. It was the only stand of more than thirty in the innings at the time, worth 46 off 36 balls.
The 17th over began, and Sciver-Brunt saw Amy Jones give Dotting a catch at backward point and Charlie Dean pick out Matthews at mid-off. She nearly single-handedly scored 13 runs off the 20th over and 14 runs off the 18th to record her 14th half-century in Twenty20 international cricket and push England over 140.
It wasn’t until the last group stage game that the team with a reputation for hitting big, but not always the results, showed some true aggression up front. Matthews, who hasn’t been as dominant with the bat but has scored 10, 8, and 34 runs so far in the competition, blasted Lauren Bell over long leg for six on the second ball.
Bell had to pay for the opening over, which was the most costly of the competition thus far, but she proceeded to score fours through excellent leg and mid-off. She and Joseph rode their luck to control the remainder of the powerplay, but not without a little nervousness, as Matthew controlled the opening over.
First, Joseph smashed Sciver-Brunt to deep mid-wicket, where the ball passed through Sophia Dunkley’s clutches for four more. He next struck a thick outside edge between short third and backward point, which went for four more. Sophie Ecclestone, England’s ultimate weapon, was the next victim as she took control of the over and hit Charlie Dean for six boundaries in a row. In the powerplay, West Indies scored the best score of the tournament thus far—67 without a loss.
Following Dunkley’s slip, England gave up five catches, which was the beginning of one of their worst fielding displays in a while. Alice Capsey managed to settle herself beneath Joseph’s skied Sciver-Brunt in the fifth over, but she attempted a reverse-cup catch and dropped it. Joseph was on 31 at the time.
Subsequently, at 35 in the eighth over, Bouchier moved to her left but failed to stop Joseph’s mid-wicket blow to Sarah Glenn. After that, Bouchier was tracked by the ball for a short period, and when Campbelle called Dottin through for a run, she failed to collect cleanly at mid-wicket.
Bouchier chastised herself, and things in England were unravelling. England has dropped nine of the 75 catches that have been made during the tournament’s group stage, which is the third-highest number of any team.
